


the night you set the fire in me

by monamoure



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Crack Treated Seriously, First Meetings, Flirting, Haunted Houses, Kissing, M/M, anakin is a worker, happy spooky season everyone hehe, no beta we die like men, obi-wan is the scared customer, padme and cody are fiends, poor obi wan cannot catch a break, there are a few creepy (?) scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26996752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monamoure/pseuds/monamoure
Summary: Something jumps out from behind a tree and before Obi-Wan can take the proper time to react, his fist is moving on its own accord. He shouts out in fear before feeling his knuckle come in contact with something hard. He almost thinks he punched a tree or something similar with how much it hurt his hand.“Fuck-”Obi-Wan’s eyes widen. Trees don’t talk. Unless he’s going insane which is also entirely plausible at this point.orobi-wan gets dragged to a haunted house and poor anakin suffers the consequences
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 13
Kudos: 167





	the night you set the fire in me

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i hope you enjoy whatever this is :)

Obi-Wan curses himself and his apparent lack of common sense to all hell. He should’ve known better than to fall for Padme’s luring invitation to a ‘night of casual drinks’. In his defense, the clever woman had a way with words that always seemed to have him playing into her palm. He really needs to learn how to read her better to save himself from disasters such as this. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged to a _haunted house_ against his will, yet here he is.

“ _That’s_ your casual wear?” A judgemental tone slices into Obi-Wan’s drifting thoughts and offense replaces the tense expression he’s been wearing for the past thirty minutes. Padme is regarding him with an unimpressed brow raise and Obi-Wan subtly glances down at his attire.

He looks up, confusion etched onto his features. “What’s wrong with this?”

Cody welcomes himself into the conversation after shutting his phone off and placing the device in his back pocket. “We said we were going for drinks, not to a book reading.”

Obi-Wan barely contains his eye roll, temporarily relaxing and easily falling into their natural banter. “Cody, please. If you’re going to keep insulting me find a new joke to make.” Padme snorts, standing on her tiptoes to peer at the line of people ahead of them. “Also, you both lied to me. I can just go home now if you don’t like how I’m dressed.” 

Brown eyes blow wide in protest and two voices immediately start apologizing through laughter. “We knew you would never come here if we asked-”

“Well, obviously.”

“-So we had to get creative.”

“ _Creative?”_ Obi-Wan barks out in disbelief. “That was a tactful plan of deceit. I’m not sure that’s something I can forgive so easily.” 

Cody and Padme shake their heads fondly. “How about you thank us for spicing things up a little?” Cody smirks with his chin raised and Obi-Wan scoffs, shoving his hands further into his coat pocket. They could poke fun all they want, but at least he’s keeping warm. “Seriously, when’s the last time you took a proper break from work?”

The line begins moving and, despite himself, Obi-Wan takes the few steps forward with everyone else. He lets out a dry laugh, “I would hardly call this a proper break.”

Padme sets her friend with a knowing look, eyes narrowed as she points a finger at him. “Are you scared, Obi-Wan?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Obi-Wan huffs, avoiding direct eye contact. “It’s all props and actors, how could anyone be scared?” He hears the overcompensation as soon as it leaves his mouth, but any more explanation would only further prove Padme’s point.

As if on cue, Padme’s gaze drifts off behind Obi-Wan and an evil smile takes over. Their eyes reconnect briefly and Padme nods her head to whatever stole her attention, “So nothing about that bothers you?” Obi-Wan’s brows pull together and he begins turning around.

Fucking hell, what was this going to be ab-

_Oh._

Only a few groups behind them, a figure dressed in a clown costume lurks within the crowd. He’s wearing a tattered, funky patterned neon suit, dulled with splatters of fake blood. His hair is a matted blue mess, and his face is covered in crackling makeup, painting him as a demented children’s clown. He’s carrying around a sledgehammer, letting it drag against the concrete behind him as he torments the weakest links of every group. 

And of fucking course it would be Obi-Wan’s luck to make direct eye contact with him. Apparently, something the clown sees has him stalking toward Obi-Wan menacingly. Obi-Wan freezes in place before finally, _finally_ moving to turn around. He comes face to face with his friends, if he could even call them that anymore, wearing shiteating grins. 

“Obi-Wan, I think someone wants to talk to you,” Cody wiggles his brows and shifts his gaze between Obi-Wan and the man behind him. Padme covers her face with her hands, but it’s obvious she’s shaking with laughter.

Obi-Wan could kill them if he wasn’t so worried about his own fate. He hears the eerie sound of the sledgehammer growing closer and closer and shuts his eyes briefly, blowing out a heady breath. 

He registers the overpowering smell of paint and nail polish remover before anything else. His eyes squint open and, to his left, nearly close enough to be breathing down his neck, is the clown. He’s wearing cloudy grey fish eye contacts and tilts his head slowly, peering into Obi-Wan’s eyes. 

When he gets too close for his liking, Obi-Wan finds himself retreating. “Could you, er, not do that? Please?” He faintly hears Cody and Padme dying of laughter, but decides his attention should be focused on the figure before him, eyeing him as though he was a piece of meat to be devoured. 

A few more seconds of Obi-Wan holding his breath, counting down from ten, performing every other coping mechanism imaginable, and the clown lets up on his intense stare. Instead, he goes berserk, laughing maniacally and moving his body unpredictably to insight some sort of reaction. Obi-Wan flinches and the actor cackles before moving on to Cody and Padme, invading their personal space with loud noises and odd mannerisms. Padme jumps in surprise, but the pair quickly doubles over in fitful laughter. The clown decides to move on to a couple ahead of them in line soon after. 

Obi-Wan breathes a sigh of relief, swiping a stray piece of hair from his face as his heart reels from the frightening experience. “Honestly, what was so funny about that?” His voice is higher in pitch and he’s slightly breathless, but he can’t bring himself to care all that much as he scrutinizes his friends. 

Padme tries and fails to speak through her giggles, clutching her stomach and patting the man beside her, who is in somewhat better shape. Cody inhales deeply before looking to Obi-Wan. “Your face was priceless, you were so scared!” He snorts halfway through his sentence and tries in vain to suppress his amusement. Obi-Wan stands with his arms crossed, no doubt an indignant pout plastered on his face. 

Padme coos at Obi-Wan when the pair calms down and places a friendly arm across his shoulders. “Don’t worry, Obi. We’ll be your knights in shining armor.” No matter how much Obi-Wan wants to be angry and give them the silent treatment for being so evil, he finds himself curling into the touch. He tells himself it has everything to do with this cold weather and nothing to do with the clown still on the prowl, not at all. 

They manage the rest of the wait without any more incidents and make easy conversation about their weeks, their plans for this weekend, what shows they’ve been binging. Obi-Wan almost convinces himself they really _are_ going to get drinks.

That is, until he is rudely reminded where they are by the ticket booth worker shouting, “Next!” to the trio. They all glance at the pricing chart on the side of the booth and take out their wallets. Obi-Wan pointedly ignores the posters displaying more creepy photos of the establishment, tampering down the queasy feeling in his stomach.

“I don’t know what you two are doing, but I’m paying for this.” Cody side eyes his friends while pulling out a wad of cash, getting ready to count it.

“No, no,” Obi-Wan shakes his head earnestly while pulling out his card. “This one’s on me.”

Cody squints at him, momentarily pausing. “You didn’t even want to come.”

Obi-Wan stares blankly with his lips pursed in contemplation. “No, but I insist.”

Cody opens his mouth to protest, but they’re both interrupted by a cough. Padme stands between them with a sly smile and her hands outstretched, offering red wristbands to the pair. “Consider it my treat.” She walks away before either of them can throw any money at her, and the two scramble to put on the wristbands quickly. 

They’re paired with another group of three because apparently it’s a busy night and they’re trying to get the line moving quicker. Obi-Wan has no problem with this- the way he sees it, the bigger the group, the less chance he’ll be singled out. 

From what Obi-Wan could tell, half the walkthrough was in a house while the other half was outside on a path in the woods behind the house. 

Because why the fuck not, right?

They enter a decent sized room that echoes with Obi-Wan’s hammering heart and the screams of other customers further into their walkthrough. Padme stands in the middle of Cody and Obi-Wan, their arms linked as they take cautious steps. It’s dark and Obi-Wan is having a hard time seeing where he’s stepping. Floorboards creak underneath them and he braces himself for the inevitable.

Padme speaks up as they trek on, “Okay, it’s been way too fucking long- _HOLY SHIT!_ ”

Everyone in the group jumps back when a door slams behind them and a large figure runs in from another entrance. Obi-Wan can’t see a thing but he can almost make out the figure’s shadow running across the room and exiting. 

It goes on like this for the next few minutes, the group walking around cautiously, trying to predict the next scare. Obi-Wan tells himself it’s almost over and that, maybe this one won’t be so bad, only to be jump scared yet again. The only thing keeping his reactions at bay is Padme’s iron grip on his arm that tightens every time something happens. 

Cody is putting on a brave front, indulging in some shaky trash talk after every scare. It helps bring a smile to both Padme and Obi-Wan’s faces. 

They eventually reach the basement, where they are greeted by a man wearing a bloody surgeon’s costume. 

“How many of you are there?” His eyes are wild as they dash across everyone’s face. When he doesn’t get an answer quick enough, he yells the question again ten times louder. Obi-Wan jumps slightly before he hears someone call out a number, he thinks it was Cody. 

The surgeon smiles sinisterly and calls the number out behind him. Suddenly, a hoard of people dressed in clown costumes bombard the group and chase them out the back door. Obi-Wan can barely tell they’re not in the house anymore as he’s too busy running for his life. 

Now, let it be known that Obi-Wan is an active guy, he gets in his exercise when he can and makes sure to lead a healthy lifestyle. However, running in a sweater, tight fitting pants, and dress shoes is never ideal. Very quickly after they began running, Obi-Wan and Padme’s arms disentangled and it was a race for survival. The clowns just kept chasing them for miles, it seemed, and Obi-Wan found himself falling behind. He couldn’t see and was breathing heavily. He thought he saw one of the clowns turning down a certain path and decided to follow. 

Well, that was around five minutes ago, and he has yet to catch up to either Padme or Cody. 

He’s once again cursing this stupid night and regretting every life decision that drew him to this moment. His hand grabs at his jacket pocket, blindly searching for his phone so he could try and call his friends. He’s successfully blinded himself with the brightness of his screen when he hears rapid footsteps off to his right, followed by devious laughs and frightful screams. 

He pockets his phone and jogs to the source of the sound, almost cheering when he sees a group of people being chased by clowns down another path. He steps out onto the path which, just by looking at it, Obi-Wan can tell is the one he should’ve been on all along. 

Oh well, no use in dwelling on it now. 

His pace quickens and he sees the clowns scatter into the woods while the group of customers ducks off into the next part. A few seconds later, those in the clown costumes step out onto the wide path and start walking back toward the house, making casual conversation. 

Obi-Wan half expects them to start chasing him once they see him standing there. To his surprise, though, one of them stops and takes off their mask.

“Are you alright?”

Obi-Wan is at a loss for words. 

Is he alright? Absolutely fucking not.

“Yeah, I just got separated from that group right there, but I’ll catch up.”

The actor gives him a skeptical look. “Are you sure? We can bring you to the front if you’d like.” 

Oh, he would very much like that. He almost says as much when Padme and Cody’s faces come to mind, mocking him for getting lost like a five-year-old. God, they would never let him live this down.

He shakes his head, “No. No, thank you. I can find them.”

The actor shrugs and pulls on their mask before continuing on their path with the rest of the clowns. Obi-Wan takes only a second to linger before continuing on.

He can clearly see the path meant to be taken now, so this should be a piece of cake. 

Only, Obi-Wan didn’t take into account that he’ll be _finishing_ the walkthrough- jumpscares and all. 

However, after a few minutes of nothing but crickets and owls, Obi-Wan begins to let his guard down. Maybe the house is closing and they aren’t expecting anyone else to come down the path. Maybe for once, luck is on his side and he wouldn’t have to worry about literally being scared to death. He could just walk this clear path right on through to the end, where Cody and Padme would be waiting for him with open arms and a well deserved apology. 

Obi-Wan speeds up when he enters an area full of fake, bloodied props thrown aimlessly across the area. The path becomes extremely narrow and he hears loud music begin to play in the near distance, while fog sits low on the ground. Bright lights flash on and off, casting creepy shadows on the path ahead of him and Obi-Wan’s heart rate picks up significantly. His palms grow sweaty and he tries to calm himself down to no avail. 

The music grows louder and louder and everything becomes too much for him. Obi-Wan covers his ears and begins running to where the light is steady, thinking it might be the end of the walkthrough.

He reaches a point where the music is playing behind him at a much more tolerable level, and while the strobe lights have ceased, the area is cast in almost total darkness.

He takes another step forward and-

“ _AHHHHH!_ ”

Something jumps out from behind a tree and before Obi-Wan can take the proper time to react, his fist is moving on its own accord. He shouts out in fear before feeling his knuckle come in contact with something hard. He almost thinks he punched a tree or something similar with how much it hurt his hand.

“Fuck-” 

Obi-Wan’s eyes widen. Trees don’t talk. Unless he’s going insane which is also entirely plausible at this point.

But then his eyes adjust to the darkness enough to see someone doubled over, breathing out a string of profanities. 

The figure stands upright, clutching their face in pain. “Holy fucking shit, that hurt.”

Obi-Wan’s heart sinks and he rushes to say something. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know-”

The stranger cuts him off. “You didn’t know there would be people jumping out at you?” His voice is strained but Obi-Wan can hear the annoyance. 

“You just came out of nowhere and I-”

“That’s kind of the whole point, man!” 

Obi-Wan stops in his frantic scrambling. The stranger certainly did have a point, but it’d also been a while since anything happened and Obi-Wan wasn’t expecting another scare. He can’t control how his body reacts, but he also feels immensely guilty.

“I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?”

The stranger’s anger seems to deflate. “No, I’ll be fine.” They wait a moment in silence. “Why are you alone?”

Obi-Wan finds himself giving a humorless laugh, “Why? Do people not often come to haunted houses alone?”

“Look, I didn’t mean to offend you-” The man speaks tiredly.

“I was just joking,” Obi-Wan begins, “I came here with friends but we got separated.”

“That’s weird. B Crew usually picks up stragglers and brings them back to the entrance,” it seems he’s talking more to himself than Obi-Wan.

“B Crew?”

“The creepy clowns that chase you out of the house.”

Obi-Wan clears his throat, “The, uh, clowns saw me and asked, but I said I would catch up to them myself.”

He can’t clearly make out the other’s face, but going by his tone, the stranger seems very judgemental of Obi-Wan right now. “Why would you do that?”

Obi-Wan feels his face heat despite it being freezing cold out. He didn’t particularly want to explain to the stranger how he would rather suffer through this night of horrors than face his mocking friends. He deflects the question, instead asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

The stranger chuckles, and Obi-Wan doesn’t think about how nice it sounds for too long. “Like I said, I’ll be fine. Though I am slightly worried for you.”

Obi-Wan laughs disbelievingly, “Me? Why would you be worried for me?”

“You’re going all Lara Croft on this path right now trying to find your friends. Punching innocent bystanders in the face.”

Obi-Wan’s mouth opens and closes and opens again, “You are hardly innocent! And to be clear, I don’t make a habit of punching people.” 

“Could’ve fooled me,” the man mumbles in amusement. “I think I’ll keep an eye on you anyway. Just in case.”

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary,” Obi-Wan begins to walk off, convinced this conversation is over and he can put it behind him in favor of finding his friends and getting the hell out of here.

Twigs snap under a pair of footsteps keeping up with his pace. “I disagree, I think it’s entirely necessary.”

Obi-Wan continues walking, trying to pick up his speed and hopefully ditch the stranger. “Really? And why is that?” He isn’t paying close enough attention to where he’s stepping, though, and his foot catches on a large tree root. He feels himself going down, already dying of embarrassment when a pair of arms reaches out and steadies him by the waist. In his flailing, Obi-Wan grabs hold of defined forearms, struggling to catch his breath once he’s sure he won’t fall. 

A low laugh rings in his ears and the stranger retreats. “Well for starters, that.” Obi-Wan huffs, pulling down his sweater and pushing the hair off his forehead. “I also don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interest to walk through this alone.”

Obi-Wan pays close attention to the ground, and makes note of the more well-lit area they’re coming up on. “Thank you. I appreciate the gesture, I really do but I’m perfectly capable of getting through it alone. I don’t need you protecting me.”

A loud shriek suddenly rings out and two girls dressed in white run across them from either side of two trees. Obi-Wan’s hand shoots up to his chest as his eyes shut, instinctively inching closer to the nearest body without much thought. He opens his eyes at the sound of an amused chuckle and lets out a huff, pulling himself away. 

The man beside him moves closer only moments later, bumping shoulders with Obi-Wan every other step. “I didn’t say I was protecting you,” he says offhandedly.

“Well, good. Because I’m able to do that just fine.”

The stranger throws his head back in laughter. “Well, yeah,” he starts simply. “You just decked me in the face back there. I’m protecting everyone else from _you_.” 

They approach a clearing where lights in the distance illuminate the area, and Obi-Wan can make out more of the stranger. He turns to the other, a wincing grimace on his face as his eyes land on a red spot on the man’s chin. “I really am sorry about that.”

The other shifts to make eye contact, and Obi-Wan swears he almost trips again at the sight. Thick black makeup circles his eyes and smudges around the edges, contrasting with the brilliant blue surrounding his irises. There is also a deep red tint smeared sloppily on his lips while the rest of his face is bare, displaying tan, unblemished skin. He’s not dressed nearly as horrifying as some of the other actors, but taking in his defined features, Obi-Wan would guess he poses even more of a threat to his well being. 

“Stop saying you’re sorry,” he rolls his eyes with a slight smirk crossing his face. “I mean, it’s not the most out of this world thing to happen, right?” He gauges Obi-Wan’s confused reaction and nods eagerly before going on. “No, think about it. We’re practically asking for it by jumping out at a bunch of strangers.” 

“So you’re saying it’s your fault I hit you?” Obi-Wan tilts his head to the side while squinting.

The man shrugs his shoulders and looks ahead to watch where he’s stepping. “I’m just saying it’s bound to happen at least once.” After a brief moment, he turns his head to Obi-Wan again, brown curls swaying in the process. “How’s your hand?”

Obi-Wan tracks the other’s gaze to his right hand and lifts it for a closer inspection. His knuckles are a bright red against his pale skin, but he hasn’t allowed himself to pay much mind to it until right now. The initial searing pain has simmered, though it still aches and he has no doubt he’ll need to ice it soon for the swelling. His lips curl into a sly smirk and he lets his hand drop back to his side, “I’ll be fine.” 

Blues eyes crinkle and the man smiles, looking down with a shake of his head, “Touché.”

“So, what’s your na-”

Obi-Wan’s cut off mid sentence by a loud shriek followed immediately by a swinging blur of white. He hears a horrified yell and a large figure jumps back into him, haphazardly throwing their arms around his upper body and shifting them both to the left in the process. Obi-Wan’s heart rate has spiked and it takes a few moments for him to register the figure as the man guiding him through the woods. They’re both slightly panting, and the taller of the two still has his arms wound tightly around Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan stands rigid, hyper aware of his hand that found its way to the man’s lower back in the chaos. They’re close enough for soft curls to graze his neck, the faint scent of vanilla and the woods surrounding him. Before he can bring himself to say anything, the warmth he was basking in is pulling away, putting some more distance between them. Obi-Wan looks at the cause of their panic to see a white sheet fitted around the shape of a body, swaying slowly above them from a tree. 

He blows out a shaky breath while running fingers through his disheveled hair. He glances to his right to see a hand held up in warning.

“Don’t even.”

He can’t help the amused smile playing on his features as he basks in this new revelation. “You were terrified.”

The man huffs and briefly looks to Obi-Wan before keeping his head down as they walk on. “That one’s new. I didn’t know about it.” 

Obi-Wan takes his chances and shuffles slightly closer so their shoulders clash once again. “At least you didn’t resort to violence.” They both laugh and Obi-Wan can see the tension rolling off the other as they step in sync. When his laughter settles down, he attempts his question again. “What’s your name?”

The man raises a skeptical brow at him, “Why? You’re not gonna like, report me to my superior or anything like that?” 

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes and scoffs, mock offense written on his face. “No! If anything, you should be reporting me. I simply wish to know the name of the nice man who looked after me.” 

“Anakin.” The man, _Anakin_ , says with a small smile as he kicks a rock on their path. 

Obi-Wan beams at him, “Hello, Anakin.”

Anakin smiles coyly back at him. “Hello…” His voice drifts off with a soft lilt, leaving space for a name.

“Oh, I don’t know if I should tell you.”

Now it’s Anakin’s turn to scoff. “Why not? You know mine.”

There’s a glint of mischief in Obi-Wan’s eyes, “Well, I did assault you.” 

“If I was upset about that I would’ve let you walk this nightmare alone.”

“And why aren’t you upset?”

Anakin waves a finger at him and sends a teasing grin his way. “Not until you tell me your name. Or at least give me a decent reason as to why you won’t.”

Obi-Wan weighs his options. He could keep this game going until they eventually reach the end or, he could tell Anakin his name and wait to see if any assault charges are sent his way after a few days. He regards Anakin once again to see him looking forward, brows pinching together in concentration while his lips set in a subtle pout. Obi-Wan speaks without thinking, “I’m Obi-Wan.” 

His voice beckons the other’s attention and he finds he’s not ready to see the blinding smile cast his way. “Obi-Wan,” he tests the name out, “I like it.” 

There’s a hot blush painting his high cheekbones and Obi-Wan thanks the universe it’ll probably pass as a side effect of the cold. “Thank you,” he calls out softly. Their eyes meet, leaving them both with shy smiles before they train their gazes ahead of them once again. 

“Hey,” Anakin’s hand moves to the small of his back as he begins veering them off to the left. “There’s another path that leads to the exit. It’s a little longer, but there won’t be any more scares.” Obi-Wan finds himself nodding along deftly and leaning into Anakin’s touch as they duck under a low hanging branch. 

The path is more narrow than the main one, and there’s more forest debris scattered about as well. Anakin’s hand slides away from his back in favor of offering his arm to Obi-Wan. He looks up gratefully and latches on with both his arms, one wrapping under Anakin’s arm while the other crosses over it. “Are you going to tell me why you’re not upset with me?” 

Anakin peers down at him before saying anything, “No harm was done.” In response, Obi-Wan grunts disbelievingly. “Should I be, Obi-Wan? Do you make a habit of punching defenseless haunted house workers?” His voice is teasing as he goes on conspiratorially.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan nudges him lightly, earning a deep chuckle that has Anakin’s arm flexing in Obi-Wan’s hold.

“Okay, okay,” Anakin says in a placating tone. “I was upset at first, but then you got all lost puppy on me. How could I be upset with that?”

Obi-Wan’s face scrunches up in distaste as they round a corner by a large tree. “I did not go all ‘lost puppy’ on you.”

“Yes you did! You were scared and lost and separated from your friends. Lost puppy.”

Obi-Wan glances to the mark on Anakin’s chin before meeting his eyes with a skeptical look. “Really?” he deadpans. Anakin merely shrugs.

Obi-Wan sighs. “So you took pity on me?” 

“No, ugh. I just-” Anakin struggles to come up with an answer, ripping a laugh from deep in Obi-Wan’s chest.

Obi-Wan continues laughing, much to Anakin’s dismay, and leans his head against the man’s bicep for a moment. “I’m only kidding, Anakin. I very much appreciate all your help. Lord knows you didn’t have to.”

“No. But I wanted to.” Anakin doesn’t tell Obi-Wan to move his head so he takes it as a sign to leave it where it is. Apart from the fact this position brings him closer to Anakin, he’s also pretty worn out and the arm serves as a nice pillow. His eyes are fluttering as he wills them to stay open so he can at least see where he’s walking. 

“Are you allowed to leave your spot?” Obi-Wan wonders aloud, tilting up to look at Anakin only to be met with the defined curve of his jaw. 

“I think so, yeah?” His tone is unsure and Obi-Wan’s eyes open wider. 

“What do you mean you think so?”

“I mean I think so.”

“Anakin-”

“Okay, stop. I wasn’t just gonna leave you alone. No one’s gonna care if I left for a few minutes to help a cute guy find his friends,” he speaks out with firm resolve and Obi-Wan backs down, heating up at the compliment. Anakin doesn’t realize he let the admittance slip past his lips at first, but Obi-Wan can tell he does when the figure next to him goes tense. 

“I care,” Obi-Wan whispers, seeing the gust of his warm breath blow out into the cold night air. “I wouldn’t want the cute guy helping me to lose his job because I was being an idiot.” 

“Something tells me I wouldn’t mind so much,” Anakin is looking down at him with something soft played out on his face. “This job kinda sucks anyway.”

“How so?” Obi-Wan’s voice is genuine and he settles back into Anakin’s arm. He vaguely hears the sirens going off in the back of his head, screaming at him to be on alert. He really should be, considering Anakin could be some sort of serial killer leading his prey away from the herd, but he can’t be bothered. Not with how comfortable he is resting against his warm body, being lulled into a trance by his deep voice. 

“You’ll never believe it, but there was this one time I got punched in the face.” 

“No,” Obi-Wan gasps dramatically.

Anakin hums, nodding his head. “Yup. And that’s not even the worst part.” They walk a few steps in silence before he speaks up again. “The worst part is I might never see this guy again. And I would really like to.”

Obi-Wan lifts his head so he can meet Anakin’s gaze head on. “Did you ask him?” He’s slightly breathless despite their slow pace and he can hear the beating of his heart loudly in his ears as Anakin’s eyes flit between his and his lips. 

“No, but-” 

Obi-Wan disentangles their arms and surges forward, planting his lips on Anakin’s. They both stop in their tracks, Obi-Wan wrapping his arms around the other’s neck, careful to avoid his chin. Anakin faintly tastes of makeup and it takes a moment for him to respond, but Obi-Wan gets lost in the feeling of a pair of arms sliding around his waist. Anakin tilts his head and starts reciprocating, mouth moving slowly with Obi-Wan’s. One of his hands reaches up and gently holds the underside of Obi-Wan’s jaw, causing goosebumps to run up his spine. 

They pull apart and Obi-Wan’s eyes slowly bat open to see Anakin already looking down at him. His hands haven’t moved from their position and the makeup on his face is even more smudged than before, leaving Obi-Wan to guess what his own face must look like. Yet, Obi-Wan can’t find a single thing he doesn’t enjoy about this moment as he takes in a breathless Anakin. His eyes are hooded, giving him a more sinister look but Obi-Wan can see the heat lurking in all that cool blue. 

“Will I see you again?” Anakin’s thumb absentmindedly strokes his cheek as his eyes skip over Obi-Wan’s features. 

Obi-Wan smiles brilliantly before nodding his head. “I hope so. I really hope so.” His words bring a wide, blinding grin to Anakin’s face.

No matter how warm he feels, the biting cold causes Obi-Wan to shiver in his place and Anakin notices. He places a chaste kiss to Obi-Wan’s forehead before shrugging an arm around his shoulders and pulling him closer to his body. “Let’s get you out of here, yeah? We’re super close now.”

Obi-Wan deflates slightly at the thought of leaving Anakin so soon, but reminds himself that Anakin wants to see him again. Hopefully somewhere that wasn’t the woods and didn’t have random things popping out at you. 

They make small talk the rest of the way and, before either of them know it, they’re coming up on an opening that leads to pavement. There’s people chattering and music playing with orange lights illuminating the area. Obi-Wan slowly pulls away from Anakin’s personal space to search for his friends and wipe the remnants of Anakin’s makeup from his face. 

He’s just about to give up and declare they’ve gone home without him when he hears a familiar voice shout, “Oh my god, there he is! Cody, look, it’s Obi-Wan!”

His friends come barrelling over and nearly take him out as they throw themselves around him in a crushing hug, completely missing Anakin as he steps out of the way. Obi-Wan buries himself into the pile of warmth until Padme pulls back, a look of pure relief on her face. 

“We were so worried. We tried to go back in once we realized you weren’t with us anymore, but they wouldn’t let us.” She speaks fast as she checks Obi-Wan’s general appearance for any outstanding injuries. 

Cody detaches himself fully as she does so, a worried glint in his eye. “They said you would either be found and brought back to the beginning or come out this way. We just got back from camping the entrance.”

Obi-Wan’s heart drops as he thinks of the fear he must have caused them. He hadn’t even thought how scary it would be for them not to know where he was for so long. He quickly explains how he initially got split up from them as Padme clutches her chest with a concerned expression and Cody places a steadying hand on his shoulder. 

“We’re so glad you’re alright, Obi,” Cody says somberly, Padme nodding along eagerly.

Obi-Wan cracks a smile and shifts his gaze to Anakin, who stands awkwardly off to the side, clearly trying to make it seem like he’s not listening to their conversation. “I can’t take all the credit. Without Anakin, I may have never seen the light of day again,” he doesn’t even try to keep the amusement from coloring his tone. Anakin perks up at his name while Obi-Wan’s friends turn in confusion to see what’s caught his attention. 

They exchange quick introductions, Cody and Padme thanking him for all his help as Anakin waves them off, saying it was his pleasure. His eyes drift to Obi-Wan in the midst of their brief conversation and he offers a warm smile. 

“Wanna get out of here, Obi-Wan? I think we seriously owe you a drink after tonight,” Cody points behind him to Padme’s car as the woman pulls her keys out of her jacket pocket. 

“Yeah, give me a minute though.” Padme follows his gaze to Anakin and smiles knowingly at him before tugging Cody away in the direction of her car. 

Anakin quickly meets him halfway to shorten the distance between them. Obi-Wan fumbles under his stare to pull out his phone, ignoring the notifications from Cody and Padme and going to the Phone app. He offers the device to Anakin, suddenly shy for no apparent reason.

Anakin doesn’t hesitate to accept the offer and taps away for a few seconds before handing it back with a smile. “Call me.” 

“I will,” Obi-Wan responds giddily. He knows his friends are watching from Padme’s car and he knows he shouldn’t care, he’s a grown man. But it also makes him feel like a teenager saying goodbye to his date in front of his parents. Anakin is clueless of Obi-Wan’s thoughts and nosey friends as he extends a hand to grab Obi-Wan’s chin and pull him into a brief kiss. His eyes fall closed and he tilts his head, hand coming up to graze between Anakin’s shoulder blades. They stay inches apart when they break the kiss before Obi-Wan begrudgingly pulls away. He staggers backward toward his ride, keeping his hazy smile on Anakin most of the way. 

“See you around, Obi-Wan. Ice your hand,” Anakin calls out to him with a cocky smirk.

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes but he is nothing less than smitten, “Ice your face.” 

“Touché.”

Obi-Wan reaches the car and slides in the backseat, not surprised in the slightest by the array of questions he’s immediately bombarded with. He can’t wipe the dopey smile off his face through the whole ride as he retells the encounter. A warm feeling settles over him when he gets home and pulls out his phone to see Anakin’s saved contact. 

Maybe haunted houses weren’t so bad after all.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this as an early bday gift to myself woop woop,, thank you for reading, i hope you liked it! let me know what you think! n happy spooky season ooOOoo


End file.
